FastPass+ Basic Info, Suggested Priorities, And Strategies--Part II

[Cluelyss]

Thank you so much to whomever started this thread. Our last Disney trip was 3 years ago and the online fastpass booking system is new to us. I did have a question. My husband hates most rides, but I thought I would book him a fastpass along with me and the kids in case one of the kids wanted to use his fastpass for that ride after we have gone on it. Are the fast passes non-transferable? Or should I book him for something else while we are on the ride?

You would just need to give one of the kids his MB to use his FP. Happens all the time!

 

[Cluelyss]

I think I've read everything you've posted Mesaboy2 about FP+ and park hopping, but I wanted your opinion on my specific situation: Here are the facts: 1. We're going to WDW June 6-11th so a pretty busy time 2. We have park hopper tickets 3. When we're in HS, it will NOT be on the weekends during SWW 4. We will NOT be getting FP+ for any meet & greets (I have boys) 5. Last trip to WDW was 2012 when we still could get paper FPs so I'm lost! 6. We're staying at BWI if that matters 7. We do want to ride the major attractions: TSM, ToT, RRRC, SpM, TM, SM, Buzz, HM, EE, KRR, Safari etc. We have a few days where we'll split our park days and my question to you is in your knowledgeable opinion, when would you book FP+ for? Morning or afternoon parK? A. HS in the morning (8am b'fast inside the park pre-opening) and then Epcot in the afternoon B. AK in the morning (8am TH bfast inside the park pre-opening) and then MK in the afternoon/evening C. MK in the morning (just after rope drop) and then Epcot in the afternoon/evening Do you need any other information to give me your best knowledgeable opinion/suggestions?

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but wanted to throw in my 2 cents! As a general rule, I feel you can usually accomplish a lot at RD in any park, without the use of FP. I generally reserve my selections for late morning / early evening when the crowds are heaviest. So in the interest of park hopping, I would generally recommend saving your selections for the 2nd park. However, 3 caveats here: Not sure if the 3 scenarios you laid out are your only park days or not, but if you are only going to be in HS and/or AK once, then you may want to schedule FPs there as to ensure you get on the rides you want in those parks. Second, MK generally has the most availability for FPs later in the day, so the day you hop to MK, you can likely utilize your 4th, 5th, etc. FP options with relative ease. Third, if there is something your or another member of your family absolutely HAS TO DO, throw all logic to the wind and schedule it for whatever time you can get!!! In my family's case, this was the A&E M&G, which you will thankfully avoid! But better to "waste " a FP and accomplish what everyone really wants to do than to have to skip something because the line is too long. Hope that helps!

 

[Avery&Todd]

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but wanted to throw in my 2 cents! As a general rule, I feel you can usually accomplish a lot at RD in any park, without the use of FP. I generally reserve my selections for late morning / early evening when the crowds are heaviest. So in the interest of park hopping, I would generally recommend saving your selections for the 2nd park. However, 3 caveats here: Not sure if the 3 scenarios you laid out are your only park days or not, but if you are only going to be in HS and/or AK once, then you may want to schedule FPs there as to ensure you get on the rides you want in those parks. Second, MK generally has the most availability for FPs later in the day, so the day you hop to MK, you can likely utilize your 4th, 5th, etc. FP options with relative ease. Third, if there is something your or another member of your family absolutely HAS TO DO, throw all logic to the wind and schedule it for whatever time you can get!!! In my family's case, this was the A&E M&G, which you will thankfully avoid! But better to "waste " a FP and accomplish what everyone really wants to do than to have to skip something because the line is too long. Hope that helps!

THANK YOU for your response! I will take any and all suggestions!!

And to clarify, those are not our only park days, just the ones where we'll be splitting our days..

our schedule looks like this:

day #1: Epcot - arrive just before noon and the only park of the day
day #2: MK - arrive pre-rope drop for b'fast at CP before park opens and stay all day
day #3: HS/Epcot
day #4: AK/MK
day #5: MK/Epcot
day #6: HS - AM only..out after lunch to go home...

So, specific questions are:
1. for day #3, we should/should not use our FPs for HS in the morning or save them for Epcot? (we will also go on the Behind the Seeds tour that afternoon so it will take up some "ride time" that afternoon)
2. for day #4, we should/should not use our FPs for AK thinking that we could still get more FPs later at MK?
3. for day #5, if we eat at 'OHana at 8am and park opens at 9am, and we head right over, we should not use FPs at MK but save them for Epcot in the afternoon?

THANKS AGAIN!!

 

[Icarus3000]

Apologies in advance, but I didn't read all 102+ pages, and my search skillz may not be sufficient as I couldn't find a clear answer to this.

If your stay at a Disney Resort Hotel is shorter than your entire visit to the parks (e.g. Stay at Disney Resort Hotel one night, but buy 5 day pass to the parks), can you still book ALL your park ticket days 60 days in advance or only the 1 day you are staying at the resort hotel?

Thanks!

 

[Cluelyss]

THANK YOU for your response! I will take any and all suggestions!! And to clarify, those are not our only park days, just the ones where we'll be splitting our days.. our schedule looks like this: day #1: Epcot - arrive just before noon and the only park of the day day #2: MK - arrive pre-rope drop for b'fast at CP before park opens and stay all day day #3: HS/Epcot day #4: AK/MK day #5: MK/Epcot day #6: HS - AM only..out after lunch to go home... So, specific questions are: 1. for day #3, we should/should not use our FPs for HS in the morning or save them for Epcot? (we will also go on the Behind the Seeds tour that afternoon so it will take up some "ride time" that afternoon) 2. for day #4, we should/should not use our FPs for AK thinking that we could still get more FPs later at MK? 3. for day #5, if we eat at 'OHana at 8am and park opens at 9am, and we head right over, we should not use FPs at MK but save them for Epcot in the afternoon? THANKS AGAIN!!

Make sure you are taking into consideration the tiering at HS and Epcot. On day 1 you will be using your FPs at Epcot. Both Soarin' and TT are tier 1 and will most likely be distributed before the start of the day. Usually you can ride one at RD and FP the other, but I did not see any Epcot mornings in your schedule, so you may need to schedule 2 days of Epcot FPs (maybe day 3 since you will be scheduling your FPs at HS on your last day, so may not need to use any at HS on day 3?). On day 4 I would definitely use them at AK and then try to schedule additional FPs at MK once you arrive. Day 5 is pretty much a toss up in my mind....you'll have a whole day of FPs at MK day 2 and likely 2 afternoons of FP at Epcot, so for this day I'd just pick whichever park has more "must do" attractions for your family. Hope that helps!

 

[Mamapapa]

4. If the number of onsite resort days booked exceeds the number of ticket days in an MDX account, the prebooked FP+s can be scheduled on nonconsecutive days.

I have been looking for this answer all morning. Wish I remembered to check this thread earlier, I could have saved time! Thanks so much!!

 

[Miss Whimsy]

26 hours, 9 minutes until my FP+ window opens AHHHHHHHHH thank you mesaboy2 for gathering all this info into one place, this will be my first time with FP+ and I appreciate the massive amount of work that went into this.

 

[dfb]

[Booking Windows and Scheduling

1. The prebooking window usually opens at 12:00a (midnight) Eastern Time. On some nights, it does not open until 1:00a or--very rarely--even later. More information and a dedicated thread to this subject can be found here: FastPass+ Expected 1:00a Booking Openings.
2. Onsite guests (which includes those staying at the Swan and Dolphin but not at Shades of Green nor any Downtown Disney-area hotels) can prebook attractions up to 60 days in advance of the beginning of an on-site stay and for their entire trip. In other words, at 60 days before a check-in date one can make FP+ selections for the entire trip--up to 14 days. This can be done via the MDE/MDX website or app. (I recommend the website over the app, which can still best be described as glitchy.) FP+ can be prebooked for the number of days equal to the guest’s linked ticket.
3. For onsite guests, the 60-day prebooking window will not activate until the 60-day mark. Before this point, the booking window will be only 30 days. At midnight of the 60-day mark, the 30-day window will automatically expand to 60 (or more) days. It is also commonly reported that all members on the account with tickets don't appear on the MDX app until the 60-day mark.
4. If the number of onsite resort days booked exceeds the number of ticket days in an MDX account, the prebooked FP+s can be scheduled on nonconsecutive days.
5. Annual Pass (AP) holders can prebook attractions up to 60 days in advance of the beginning of an onsite stay, for a maximum of 7 days or the length of the onsite stay--whichever is greater. As with above, FP+ selections can be made for the entire length of stay.
6. AP holders without an onsite reservation can book up to 30 days in advance, for a maximum of 7 days. Once one of those 7 days passes or is used, an additional day of FP+ can be prebooked, ad infinitum. This can be done via the MDX website or app, and can be done with AP vouchers as well.
7. All other guests can prebook FP+ attractions no more than 30 days in advance, for the number of days on their linked ticket in MDX, and can use either the MDX website or app to do so. Unlike onsite guests, it is not possible to book beyond the 30-day mark.
8. Once the group’s initial 3 FP+ attractions are selected for each day, only then can they be edited for each individual in a group to different times and/or attractions.
9. All guests may opt to use FP+ kiosks located in each park. The kiosks can be used to schedule FP+ only for attractions in that same park. Return windows can be noted by taking a picture of the selections on the kiosk's screen or making pen-and-ink notes.

Additional/Day-Of FP+

[[/LIST]

When considering FP+ scheduling for AP holders. I found out yesterday that full length of stay (item #5 above) doesn't mean just that. Staying onsite, PAP holder is limited to 10days scheduling FP+. Additionally that stay has to be one stay not broken up, otherwise you'll be limited back to the 7 / 30 day limit.

ie I have 2 trips Late Jan /Mid Feb. Total of 11 nights staying on site but not consecutive nights. Scheduled FP+s with no problem until I got to 8th day and got message that the 3 of us with APs would be removed from the FP+ party - FP+ limit reached. When I called Disney I was informed of the rule I just described. I'm DVC but I don't know if aquiring a room by other method would make a difference.

 

[doconeill]

When considering FP+ scheduling for AP holders. I found out yesterday that full length of stay (item #5 above) doesn't mean just that. Staying onsite, PAP holder is limited to 10days scheduling FP+. Additionally that stay has to be one stay not broken up, otherwise you'll be limited back to the 7 / 30 day limit.

ie I have 2 trips Late Jan /Mid Feb. Total of 11 nights staying on site but not consecutive nights. Scheduled FP+s with no problem until I got to 8th day and got message that the 3 of us with APs would be removed from the FP+ party - FP+ limit reached. When I called Disney I was informed of the rule I just described. I'm DVC but I don't know if aquiring a room by other method would make a difference.

I would take anything you were told about the 10 day limit on the phone with a grain of salt unless we can back it up with a real life experience on it - things have changed at various times that often the people on the phone quote outdated or incorrect information.

As for the split stay, I believe it has come up recently that with APs if the first stay is 7 days or less, it doesn't seem to unlock the overall ability to book more than 7 days no matter the length of the second stay. At this point, the length of stay limit only applies to the first stay within any booking window.

I believe the 60 day window remains in effect, but you can only book in the second stay at the 60-day mark from check-in of THAT stay, and of course not run into the 7-day limit.

 

[hcox31]

I posted in my own thread, but thought I'd post here too.

FOF wasn't available at all when my 60 day window opened for my first week of February trip. None of the parade were apparently.

It's available now! I was able to book a FP for our day at MK for FOF. YAY!

 

[MaryKatesMom]

When considering FP+ scheduling for AP holders. I found out yesterday that full length of stay (item #5 above) doesn't mean just that. Staying onsite, PAP holder is limited to 10days scheduling FP+. Additionally that stay has to be one stay not broken up, otherwise you'll be limited back to the 7 / 30 day limit.

ie I have 2 trips Late Jan /Mid Feb. Total of 11 nights staying on site but not consecutive nights. Scheduled FP+s with no problem until I got to 8th day and got message that the 3 of us with APs would be removed from the FP+ party - FP+ limit reached. When I called Disney I was informed of the rule I just described. I'm DVC but I don't know if aquiring a room by other method would make a difference.

Bumped into that myself. 3 big ten day trips, June July and August with July and August within a thirty day time period all on property.

I had to scramble and ended up skipping pre-booking the MK days 60 days out because they had more FP+ availability. So every night of the July vacation for a few days I was up making FP+ for the following vacation when I used up one of the allowed 10 days.

The good part was the Memory Maker was valid for both vacations. I ended up with a ton of pictures.

 

[dfb]

I would take anything you were told about the 10 day limit on the phone with a grain of salt unless we can back it up with a real life experience on it - things have changed at various times that often the people on the phone quote outdated or incorrect information.

As for the split stay, I believe it has come up recently that with APs if the first stay is 7 days or less, it doesn't seem to unlock the overall ability to book more than 7 days no matter the length of the second stay. At this point, the length of stay limit only applies to the first stay within any booking window.

I believe the 60 day window remains in effect, but you can only book in the second stay at the 60-day mark from check-in of THAT stay, and of course not run into the 7-day limit.

All I know is out of the 4 CMs I spoke with for over two hours (1 DVC, 1 Guest relations and 2 online support) yesterday they all were unanimous that I was limited to 7 days with my scenario and even if my stay was 11 consecutive days I would be limited to 10 days of FP+ selection. (The DVC person actually opted out not knowing the answer) The 2 online support CMs claimed they confirred with the "FP+" & "PAP" gurus and claimed they could not and would not override this rule.

I obviously stated my displeasure and ask for an explanation. They gave me the email to submitt that request.

I know for a fact I cannot schedule anymore than 7 FP+s during the time I am staying onsite for eleven days. I had tech support delete my arrival/departure date FP+s just to open up the FP+s for the rest of the trip that I had already shceduled for my guest. At least they did add me to the same FP+s I had for my guest which saved me alot of hassle.

 

[dfb]

The good part was the Memory Maker was valid for both vacations. I ended up with a ton of pictures.

How did the memory maker work out? I was a big user of Photopass and Photopass+ ( extended one purchase out covering 5 months and aquired over 2000 photos.) those days are over with memory maker! But I am excited about some of its features.

 

[AC7179]

I'd like to book a FP for the MSEP our first night there. I've read it doesn't come up at 60 days, and then that it DID, and now again that it doesn't. Anyone know the latest?

 

[SgtTibbs]

I'll be making my first visit to WDW since the implementation of FP+. Can't say I'm much of a fan. Planning everything months in advance, having to be online to make decisions 1am+ Not cool.

One interesting note, since I "know" where and what I'll be doing and I won't have much flexibility, for the first time ever, I did not get the Park Hopper option. So Disney, you lost out on $98.00 of easy revenue there.

 

[mesaboy2]

I'd like to book a FP for the MSEP our first night there. I've read it doesn't come up at 60 days, and then that it DID, and now again that it doesn't. Anyone know the latest?

The norm in recent months has been all attractions opening at 60 days. However, in the last few weeks it has been noted that dates beyond late January (or something like that) for parades and/or fireworks were not available. And in the last few days that restriction has disappeared I think.

So, bottom line, things can change at any time and it is always best to check at your earliest opportunity for availability and not to assume that parades and fireworks do not open at 60 days.

 

[jensen]

If someone could clarify for me... last time we went was before the updates to FP+. When we were there, if we had a FP+ expire, we could just go to our mobile device and rebook for another time. We actually used this a few times because we'd arrive at the place we booked and there was a five minute wait, so we'd wait in line instead of wasting a FP+.

Is this gone away now? If I let one expire, do I lose it? Or can I still go back and reschedule it with my mobile device?

 

[Cluelyss]

If someone could clarify for me... last time we went was before the updates to FP+. When we were there, if we had a FP+ expire, we could just go to our mobile device and rebook for another time. We actually used this a few times because we'd arrive at the place we booked and there was a five minute wait, so we'd wait in line instead of wasting a FP+. Is this gone away now? If I let one expire, do I lose it? Or can I still go back and reschedule it with my mobile device?

When we were there in October, we were able up do exactly what you are describing. Not sure if things have changed since then, maybe someone who's been there more recently can confirm?

 

[Sherrkel]

Hello All -Our FP+ booking window opens on the 21st (1am , lucky me).
I'll be booking for 20 members of my family - in-laws, etc.

I've got everything lined up in an excel spreadsheet - I love my planning sheets!

I recall reading a couple of months back, that some guests were able to book FP+ for family members who arrived a day later than them (ex. DH & I check in 2/19 along with half family, and the rest check in on 2/20). We all have separate rooms/packages.

Has anyone had that experience in the last couple of months, and did it work for you so that you could book for anyone in your party arriving a day later that you?

Thanks!

 

[tjlamphere]

Or, you could wait until 30 days before the last day of your trip. On that day you could make your FP ressies all at one time. All of the superheadliners will be unavailable at 30 days out anyways, so there is no real loss in waiting a few more days.

Are you kidding? I am going President's Day Week...and I am offsite, so can't start booking till next month.

Are you saying that I won't be able to get FP for Soarin, Test Track, Splash Mtn., TOT, TSM????

If that is the case, my WDW days may be numbered...and this new FP deal is a real loser.

Can someone give me some hope here????